Spirit Shadows: Power
Power is the fourth major story in Spirit Shadows, and the sixth chapter overall. Story Chapter 1 The hot summer sun had disappeared behind a blanket of grey clouds. Now these clouds could hardly be distinguished in the dark grey sky, and that was the least of anyone’s worries. On a small wooden boat, everyone on board was thinkinging about the downpour of rain upon them. The hood of Jetera’s thick black cloak helped keep the rain off of his face. He was consistently finding himself surprised with the number of practical uses his cloak had – even though, when he had first arrived among the group of people he now called his teammates, he had no concept of what this hood was, or the purpose it served. The others on his boat weren’t so lucky. Drainu, Master of Stone, had tried to create an umbrella of stone to shield himself from the torrent, but soon found that it could not stand on the boat without sinking it, so he held it up with his elemental power before becoming so weak he had to throw it away. Now he sat on the deck, arms folded, feeling every drop of rain that fell on him. The powers of Saidon, Master of Earth, could not really shield him from the rain at all, so he was sticking to the mast and trying to stay out of the way of the storm as best he could. The Matoran guiding the ship through the storm tried their best to ignore the rain, knowing that if they continued to work they would be on shore and out of the rain soon. The only person Jetera could see that was still unfazed by the downpour was Shaju, the Master of Water. Since it was his natural element, the giant of a Toa was only growing stronger elementally in the storm. It had been three days since the three ships had left the island kingdom of Erkelon. The Toa Vihagu, Erkelon’s resident guardians, were joining hundreds of other Toa and Matoran in a strike on the island of Talis, far south of Erkelon. Talis had fallen under the control of The Malevolent, an army of strange shadowy beings that had swept across the Southern Islands, taking colonies of Matoran and turning them into their servants. It was The Malevolent’s conquest that had forced a small body of Matoran to colonize Erkelon in the first place. The strike on Talis, conducted by representatives of all the islands still free of the Malevolent, was the first serious attempt at pushing back the shadowy foes. The first two days had been a fairly pleasant voyage. But on the third day, the storm had started, and had raged for several hours. Jetera had received word that one of three boats had been separated from the others by the storm, although likely had not been wrecked. Although he was not as exposed to the rain as others, the rain had dampened his spirit some. From what he knew of Talis, he knew he would have to fight knee-deep in rain, and his last experience fighting against Malevolent in water – as The Malevolent had attacked Erkelon itself two months prior – had almost killed him. Jetera was interrupted by his thoughts by a shaking on deck. He turned around and saw Shaju walking towards the back of the ship. He had thought he heard the Master of Water speaking a moment before. Shaju pulled back his arm, then unleashed a massive jet of water out of the back of the ship, which began to speed away from the second ship, and at a dangerous speed through the stormy ocean. With a “crunch” and a gradual weakening of the winds slamming into his face, Jetera felt that the boat had reached a halt. When his eyes came back into focus he saw sand… all around the boat was sand. The force of Shaju’s water blast had driven the boat into the land. He heard the shouts of the Matoran aboard, and saw them grabbing supplies, jumping over the side of the boat (assisted by Shaju) and racing for a cave about seventy meters away. Drainu and Saidon had already jumped over with the largest containers of supplies. Jetera grabbed another container, slung his own personal belongings over his back, and raced after them. The cave was quite spacious, and already had mattresses for sleeping and a few torches placed. It had obviously been prepared for their arrival prior. The crew and Toa started to dry themselves off, using whatever they could find. Then they began to set their supplies in order and prepare the place for their own living. Half an hour later, the second boat arrived, and its crew began to race towards the cave. Jetera saw Ayen, the Toa Vihagu’s deputy, giving a stern look to Shaju, saying with her eyes her displeasure for his action, but the hulking Toa seemed barely to notice. It was another hour until the third boat finally arrived, during which time the Toa and crew passed the time with playing games with rocks on the stone floor, playing music, and practicing combat. After that final crew was settled, they all took seats along the wall or on the floor, while Emekal prepared them for what they would do the following day. “Preliminary fighting over the past few days has cleared most of the streets between here and the city’s center of enemies,” he explained. “The Malevolent army is holed up in the center of the city, but they are at an advantage. They have taken the city’s largest and strongest building, the Temple of Artakha, and placed their power core in it. The power core must be destroyed before their power here is broken, so we will have to fight their whole number and scale the Temple for our victory.” “The Turaga Council has requested volunteers to make the attack on the Temple, while all others will secure the ground around the Temple,” Emekal continued, with graveness in his voice. “He has said that, of those that lead the attack, at least half will die. Think carefully about which party you will join.” There was a moment of silence as all those there pondered their options. Then Zerkah, the team leader, rose to his feet, saying, “I will join the attackers.” Therina followed his lead – had Zerkah’s decision swung her own, perhaps? Shaju and Saidon also joined them; all the Matoran, as well as Mokatu and Ayen. It was during this time that Jetera noticed the conspicuous absence of Makaen, the Master of Ice -- although he was never sure whether or not she truly was a member of the Vihagu. Then all eyes were resting on him. Everyone expected him to refuse the option - after all, he still had no elemental powers, a particular drawback against Malevolent enemies. However, against their assumptions (and his own?) he stood up. "I won't serve any more good on the ground than I will in the attack," he explained to their unspoken question of "Why?" "And I can use my tactical skills to scout out the battlefield and watch for enemy attacks." "You are choosing this, even though it will probably be your death?" "Yes." Chapter 2 It had been twenty four hours later, and Jetera had had plenty of time to regret his decision. Now, of course, he didn't have the time, he was busy fighting for his life. The combined forces of around 600 Toa and Matoran had rushed onto the raised platform surrounding the Temple of Artakha, and the hundred volunteers were fighting their way up into the Temple itself. Jetera was trying to stay connected to his teammates, and looking out for enemies that were trying to lay ambushes. Although he could not finish off any enemies on his own, he had managed to fight several armored foes to a standstill. At present he was standing on one of the Temple's large terraces, and wielding a Matoran-sized axe as best he could against a mace-wielding Armored Sapin, one of The Malevolent's foot soldiers. The Sapin was quite slow and easy to catch off guard, but would not be fully defeated unless he was struck with an elemental attack. Fortunately, Jetera had a scheme for finishing off these enemies, which he had adopted during the attack on Erkelon. Dodging the Sapin's mace striking against the ground, he grabbed the Sapin by the thigh and hurled him over his head. Zerkah, catching sight of the enemy, struck him in the air with his Fire Axe, and the Sapin's armor was consumed by flame. Catching his breath, Jetera tried to make sense of the environment around him. The black mist left by The Malevolent's presence, combined with the still overcast sky, made it difficult to see the battlefield. But the sight of bright armor and flashes from elemental power told him that the Toa had almost cleared the terrace of foes, and were making their way through an arched entranceway into the Temple's second floor. Jetera's reconnaissance was abruptly interrupted by a sudden cold pain in his chest, and the sensation of being knocked back. He landed and quickly regained his balance, then looked for his attacker. A Toa in white and lime armor, but still emanating The Malevolent's black mist, was standing in front of him, a pair of frozen disks in his hands. It was a Senti, a stronger Malevolent-born enemy that could take the body of a Toa and control their powers. The Senti drew back his right arm and threw the disk back against Jetera, but he rolled out of the way, then got up and struck his foe with the axe. The force of the blow knocked the axe out of Jetera's hand. Still not dissuaded, he began to strike his enemy with his fists, knocking him away, but was left open to the strike of another frozen disk against his feet, knocking him back to the ground. Jetera prepared himself for another attack, but instead saw the Senti moving backward, then blast into the sky and off the Temple terrace. Jetera saw Saidon standing in front of him, his Gravity Gauntlet glowing purple. "Thanks for that," Jetera told his partner. "Thank me later," the Master of Earth replied. "We need to move into the Temple." Jetera followed Saidon into the Temple, through rooms with stained glass windows and ornate decorations, now tainted by the Malevolent's presence and strewn with corpses, blood, and broken weapons. They had almost caught up with the front line of Toa when they felt a tremor in the floor. The room in front of them filled with yellow light and they felt a mass of heat. When they saw four Toa flying through the air and saw the yellow light eaten up by a reddish glow, they knew that it was an explosion. The entire mass of Toa stopped and looked into the light. As the initial glow died down, they could see a giant silhouette cast against the flames. The silhouette gave way to red and yellow armor, and the shine of the fire cast on a silver, spider-shaped helmet. The flames stripped away from a massive spiked sword in his hand, huge even for him. The giant looked at his would-be attackers through a pair of flaming red eyes, then let out a massive roar. The creature pulled back his sword, visibly straining to lift it, then brought it up through the air and onto the ground in front of it. It caused massive damage to the building, clipping a chandelier off the roof and busting the tiled floor into bits, but the attack was so slow that it hit no one. Some Toa who dodged the attack went in and made their own strikes against the Toa, striking it with elemental force. The giant winced, but shrugged them off. With great force, he pulled his sword out of the ground and swept it around him, knocking the nearby Toa into the wall. He then turned his eyes back on the rest of the attackers. Jetera saw Zerkah step out again and put his hands towards the fire still smoldering in between the Toa and the titan. The flame, acted on by Zerkah's own fire powers, dissipated into the smoke-filled air. Zerkah let out a yell, followed by the other Toa in the room. They then rushed as a mass against the giant enemy, pelting him with elemental projectiles and slashing and bashing him with their weapons. Jetera rushed with them, and pretty soon found himself right up with the others, emptying a toxic mix embedded in his surgical knife into the creature's veins. He happened to be in the path of the creature's sword when he finally gathered the energy to strike with it again. He felt the weight of the sword striking his stomach. He heard his name shouted from the crowd of Toa in despair. He saw himself flying into the air. Then he heard a crash, felt himself slamming back first into something, and then was knocked into unconsciousness. Chapter 3 Jetera opened his eyes, trying to make sense of the world around him after his fall. Everything seemed strange. He was hearing nothing, he wasn't feeling the pain he had expected, given what had just happened to him. He looked around, trying to find out where he was and where to go. He saw a patch of indigo above him, possibly a tunnel through which he had fallen. Everything else around him was black, but the indigo was sharply differentiated. Jetera felt around for a way to make light. Not for the first time, he wished he had some form of elemental power to at least provide a light. While he was thinking about this, he saw an orange glow appearing behind him. Turning around, he saw a set of four torches, each seeming to spontaneously light. The light was cast on brick walls, a rug-covered floor, and finally on a basin built into the ground. The strange part was that, from the basin, a dark purplish liquid flowed, and some purple particles floated from it into the air, up past where the light of the torches was cast. Jetera simply stood there, gazing into the basin. He saw a particle in the air, floating towards him, straight into his mouth. He felt the sense of something spike in his throat. And he slipped into unconsciousness again. When he awoke again, he could make better sense of what place he was actually in. The "indigo light" of the night before had been turned into a daytime sky, and light was pouring into the chamber where he was prostrate on the floor. He pulled himself up. He saw the four golden torchstands, now well burned out. He saw the rugs, now visible in bright red and tan, and the basin, made of stone. But whatever was inside it that he had seen before had disappeared. With his sense of hearing returning, he could hear shouts and cries. He saw the flash of elemental blasts against the daylight. The battle was still going on. Running toward the light, Jetera jumped into the air, trying to find a way out. His fingers closed on a rocky surface, and he pulled himself over it. Standing up, he saw the battlefield that he had crossed in darkness beneath the grey sky, now in full daylight. He could see clearly the ancient brown stones of the city's buildings and the Temple, which was right behind where he had come out, the bluish-grey water that still covered the Temple grounds ankle-deep, the vibrant rainbow of armor colors from the attacking force, the sinister black mist he had expected from the Malevolent. Turning his gaze, he saw a Malevolent being - some form of living crossbow - spot him, and launch a shadowy arrow towards him. Jetera sidestepped it and looked for cover. He saw that he had emerged onto a rocky platform, so he jumped off the side before the creature launched its second arrow. He then began to race through the rocks and ancient pillars on the side of the platform, looking for someone he could recognize. Trying to step past a broken pillar on the ground in front of him, he found himself in the reach of a Naked Sapin, who plunged his claws against Jetera. Rationale numbed by the icky feeling of the Malevolent's touch, he swung his arms at the Sapin, trying to find some way to separate it. He heard a sudden "crack", and felt something pulse in his arm. He saw the Sapin's body fall over, cracking into bits and disappearing into the air. Looking at his hands, he made out crackles of electricity, flashing near his hands. He had, somehow, unlocked his powers, which he had failed to do for the nine months he could remember living. Woah, cool, he thought. With the momentary shock over, he resumed his race through the battlefield. At times, he reached close to an enemy, to deliver an electric strike, then watch the enemy break away under the power. He had done this six or seven times already, getting into the hang of it to find that the enemy he had shattered was fighting - "Therina?" "Jetera?" The blue-clad Toa of Spirit said, using her spirit power to check his state of mind. "And you've unlocked your powers?" "Just a few minutes ago," he responded, out of breath. "But why aren't you in the Temple?" Therina was about to respond, but quickly turned around to telekinetically smack a Senti away from her. "The enemies were too strong last night, and we were forced to retreat and rethink our strategy." Saidon, who had just dispatched a trio of Sapin on his own, chimed in. "We found out where the Malevolent Core was located last night, and we're taking a different route to find it. It's a smaller party than we thought we needed earlier. You should catch up with the others, they've been worried about you." "Where are they?" Jetera inquired. "I'll take you to them," Therina said, and she began a quick transversal of the battlefield, Jetera doing his best to keep pace. He had caught sight of Shaju and Emekal in the crowd, and was close to reaching them, when he heard a slimy growl above the noise of the battlefield. "So you are what is left of my old foe?" Chapter 4 Jetera turned around to look for the voice. His eyes locked onto a bony figure, clad in skinny red and yellow armor that oozed with black mist. Despite the fact that he had seen hundreds of enemies in the Temple grounds, the sight of this particular individual -an Armored Senti, or a Malevolent creature in possession of another person's body - was more sickening than the others. He was slowly crawling on all fours towards Jetera, with a bestial hiss coming forth through his mask. "Jetera," the creature growled. "I was expecting someone a little more worthy to take up the Stormhawk's mantle." The newly empowered Master of Storms wasn't sure what the Senti meant, but understood enough to know that he was taunting him. So he sprinted towards the foe, forgetting for the moment the fact that he was going to rendevous with his teammates who had thought he was dead, ready to slam it with an electrical blast. The enemy swooped underneath Jetera and tripped him, but Jetera managed to connect his fist with his foe's shoulder before he fell to the ground. Quickly recovering, he kicked into his enemy's stomach, knowing that as an armored foe, the creature would be stopped by physical attacks. His enemy, however, was not shaken, and leapt up to grab the black-clad Toa. The two wrestled with each other, trying to bring the other down. It was Jetera that fell first, cutting his cloak and armor on the sharp stone foundation of the Temple. "You're as inexperienced and afraid as before," the creature spat, looming over Jetera. "This time, it is Galek who is your mast-" Ignoring the fearsome voice, Jetera twisted his body on the ground, grabbing Galek between his legs and bringing him down onto the ground. He then got up and backed up a bit from Galek, accidentally elbowing a Matoran of Earth in the face in the process. The Senti got up and stared at Jetera with his sickly green eyes, hissing at him. The battlefield seemed so slow down for a second. Jetera heard a screech over the din of the battle, and felt something tingling in his leg. Looking down, he saw an aura of electricity surrounding his feet, crackling with a vibrant blue. Galek's eyes suddenly widened with fright. Jetera tensed, hoping that he could pull off what he was planning, and felt himself rocket off the ground towards his foe. Revolving in the air, Jetera smacked Galek with his electricity-laden right foot, knocking him to the ground, still charged with electricity. Jetera crouched over the Senti, left hand grabbing Galek's right arm and lightning-crackling foot on his left, and stared him in the wide eyes, feeling the stench of the Senti's breath. Galek stammered for words, trying to prolong his life. "What... what is this... I didn't mean..." Jetera's normal calm, calculating rationale gave way to something different. An anger. A sense of triumph. A primal knowledge of black and white, good and evil. He raised his fist, bringing it down on the Senti's neck. Galek screamed, then was cut off by a cough and a gurgle as electrical power ate through his body. After half a minute of agony, a couple pieces of armor and bone and a dull green glow in a mask was all that was left of Galek the Senti. Chapter 5 The next time the sun rose over the ancient skyline of Talis, it brought light to a flag raised on the top of the temple. The flag bore a device composed of three dots in the middle and two curves on the sides. It was the symbol of the Three Virtues, the most ancient symbol in the Southern Islands, and the best means that the Matoran could use to demonstrate their own identity as opposed to The Malevolent. The second invasion of the Temple had proved far more successful than the first. That night, Saidon told the rest of the Toa Vihagu of his experiences in this invasion, taking a hidden back passage and bypassing the monsters that had halted them the first night. They had found the Malevolent Core that guided the entire army, and with a multi-elemental blast trapped it under a layer of crystalline rock, suppressing the creation of more Sapin. Jetera had also told his part of the story, telling the others of his strange vision, the accidental recovery of his powers, and the defeat of Galek. He had left out the details of Galek's remarks and the references to the Stormhawk. The following day, Emekal joined the Council of Turaga and other leading Toa to determine the next steps of the campaign. As the job of driving what was left of the Malevolent out of the island was complete, The Toa decided to see the sights in Talis, as it was a storied civilization. As most of them had seen enough of the Temple, they further explored the Palace of Ankante, across from the Temple in the city square, the Amphitheater, and the Treasury, which contained many relics of Talis' time. After leaving the Treasury, the group had taken a rest on a grassy hill near the center of the city. Jetera stood near the bottom of the hill, thinking about the past few days and listening to the shouts and laughter of the other Toa. His thoughts were interrupted by a cry of "Hail, Stormhawk!" By now used to responding whenever anyone mentioned the Stormhawk, Jetera focused his eyes on a short person, with a blue mask and grey cloak. It was a Protector of Water. "What do you want," Jetera asked him. "I have seen you in the battle," the Protector said, eyes fixed in the air rather than on Jetera. "You have watched over your allies, ensuring their protection above your own. You have struck with the talons of the hawk into the face of evil, and proven your readiness for your destiny." Before the Master of Storms could respond, the Protector began to walk away, beckoning to Jetera to follow. He led him back through the Treasury, taking a mazelike path through the broken columns and pedestals, and through a narrow passage obscured by a stone. On the other side of the passage, Jetera saw a small chamber, with an broken top so that the sun shone through onto tall grass. "Wait a second," Jetera finally said. "Why did you take me here?" The Protector stopped in his tracks, gazing intently in front of him. Catching up to him, Jetera saw the sword plunged into the ground in front of him. Its silver blade crackled with electricity, and its ornate hilt covered part of the blades with two black wing shapes. The Protector, not taking his gaze off the sword for a moment, muttered, "Faera, the Stormhawk's blade. Brought here by King Ankante eons ago. From it the power of the Stormhawk will meet its spirit." "A legendary lightning sword," Jetera slowly spoke, a tinge of sarcasm in his voice. "Isn't that a cliché?" "Cliché?" The Protector returned, taking his eyes off the sword to stare into Jetera's face. "Like, the sort of thing you would hear in a Matoran fairy tale. Simple and childish." The Protector paused for a moment, then said, "Perhaps fairy tales are so commonplace because they contain fragments of the truth. Lift the blade, see what happens." Without a comeback, Jetera had no choice but to do as the Protector said. He walked up to the sword, knelt down, and put his hands on the hilt. As he pulled the blade out, his vision flashed to a different scene. The light shining on the stones flashed to a greyish-blue sky, the grass was replaced by the sight of armies, and the sword in his hands transformed into the neck of a red-clad warrior. The face behind his sinister mask was in fright as he felt white-hot lightning surge into his body, and he burst into flames. Jetera flung the burning body away from him. As he did so, his consciousness was restored, and he heard the sword clank against the stones. But the vision was too frightening for him to contemplate. His breath was short, and he felt that he would fall to his knees, but he managed to stand in place. The Protector removed his cloak, revealing his spindly limbs and silver-clad torso, and wrapped it around the thrown blade, then carried it back to its destined wielder. "This isn't what I want," Jetera said. "All I want is to be a normal Toa like everyone else I know. Everything I see in the Stormhawk is a nightmarish way of life. I'm not that kind of monster. I don't kill people without a second glance." "It is not a choice, Stormhawk," the Protector returned. "I have seen your face in the stars above Faera's resting place, and seen the Stormhawk's spirit within you. I have no doubt that you are the Stormhawk. But, even though I know much, I still do not know who the Stormhawk truly is. You may have seen and heard what Matoran say of him... but, since you are he, the definition of the Stormhawk is up to you to write." Category:Spirit Shadows Category:Stories